As with all programs or movements, there are advantages as well as disadvantages. Nothing, especially with technology, is ever perfect. There is always room for improvement or adaptation depending on the situations at hand. With BYOD, the same is true. Although BYOD has many advantages that truly benefit today’s education system, it also has some disadvantages. With these disadvantages schools must weigh the cost to determine if a BYOD program is fitting with their needs. These disadvantages range from lack of research to security and safety concerns.
One of the largest disadvantages of BYOD is the lack of research available. BYOD is a fairly new concept in education. This means, that although many schools are changing policies and starting to adapt to the new program, the programs have not been implemented long enough to gather a substantial amount of information. This can be a deterrent for school districts looking into BYOD. Without enough information, it is hard to fully buy into the idea and make decisions on a large scale. This requires schools to create a trial and error period and adapt as the program is implemented.
Along with lack of research comes the buy-in from faculty. Another disadvantage to BYOD is the concern from teachers regarding the new idea being implemented. Many schools start the BYOD programs with a flexible expectation from teachers. Many teachers are not required to take advantage of BYOD. In Saline Area Schools there were four goals when starting to implement BYOD.
We had four goals: (1) maximize student learning by integrating tech-rich experiences into the curriculum to acquire, evaluate, create, and share digital information; (2) help students achieve media and technology literacy while maintaining a safe and ethical online environment; (3) provide and ‘always-on’ digital learning environment for students; and (4) leverage student-owned devices and digital tools to engage, instruct, and extend student learning, and give teachers the opportunity to drive BYOD from the classroom level. (Graden & Kellstrom, 2012, p. 36).
However, after a full year of BYOD and allowing teachers to ease into the concept, the school found that “some teachers still haven’t offered learning experiences that utilize student-owned devices; they are still unsure how it will work in their classrooms” (Graden & Kellstrom, 2012, p. 37). Teachers are hesitant to make the switch. It means giving up the traditional style classroom and allowing students to have some freedom.
One of the other disadvantages to BYOD is the concerns for safety and security for both students and staff. Many fear that by allowing students to bring their own devices, they are given too much freedom and trust. There are concerns that students will waste the instruction time socializing rather than learning. This makes educators, administrators and parents hesitant to accepting the program. As Saline School District recognized, “a few students still make bad choices with their personal technology in the school setting and cause a little ‘fear of the unknown’ for some staff members” (Graden & Kellstrom, 2012, p. 37). Finding a way to make all networks secure without locking out valuable resources cannot only be daunting but also prove to be a disadvantage to BYOD programs.
As with all programs or movements, there are advantages as well as disadvantages. Nothing, especially with technology, is ever perfect. There is always room for improvement or adaptation depending on the situations at hand. With BYOD, the same is true. Although BYOD has many advantages that truly benefit today’s education system, it also has some disadvantages. With these disadvantages schools must weigh the cost to determine if a BYOD program is fitting with their needs. These disadvantages range from lack of research to security and safety concerns.
One of the largest disadvantages of BYOD is the lack of research available. BYOD is a fairly new concept in education. This means, that although many schools are changing policies and starting to adapt to the new program, the programs have not been implemented long enough to gather a substantial amount of information. This can be a deterrent for school districts looking into BYOD. Without enough information, it is hard to fully buy into the idea and make decisions on a large scale. This requires schools to create a trial and error period and adapt as the program is implemented.
Along with lack of research comes the buy-in from faculty. Another disadvantage to BYOD is the concern from teachers regarding the new idea being implemented. Many schools start the BYOD programs with a flexible expectation from teachers. Many teachers are not required to take advantage of BYOD. In Saline Area Schools there were four goals when starting to implement BYOD.
We had four goals: (1) maximize student learning by integrating tech-rich experiences into the curriculum to acquire, evaluate, create, and share digital information; (2) help students achieve media and technology literacy while maintaining a safe and ethical online environment; (3) provide and ‘always-on’ digital learning environment for students; and (4) leverage student-owned devices and digital tools to engage, instruct, and extend student learning, and give teachers the opportunity to drive BYOD from the classroom level. (Graden & Kellstrom, 2012, p. 36).
However, after a full year of BYOD and allowing teachers to ease into the concept, the school found that “some teachers still haven’t offered learning experiences that utilize student-owned devices; they are still unsure how it will work in their classrooms” (Graden & Kellstrom, 2012, p. 37). Teachers are hesitant to make the switch. It means giving up the traditional style classroom and allowing students to have some freedom.
One of the other disadvantages to BYOD is the concerns for safety and security for both students and staff. Many fear that by allowing students to bring their own devices, they are given too much freedom and trust. There are concerns that students will waste the instruction time socializing rather than learning. This makes educators, administrators and parents hesitant to accepting the program. As Saline School District recognized, “a few students still make bad choices with their personal technology in the school setting and cause a little ‘fear of the unknown’ for some staff members” (Graden & Kellstrom, 2012, p. 37). Finding a way to make all networks secure without locking out valuable resources cannot only be daunting but also prove to be a disadvantage to BYOD programs.